a hetzer lost

the armor forum is more active than this, you would probably do better to ask in there. I don't know the ansewer to your question though

Do you mean you want to have an active fire in the inside of the tank? or a fire that died out?

good way to make smoke is to use nylon fibers like from a pillow. I used that on one of my dios before. I dont know what everyone else would think of it, but I like it. Might need a little developing though. attach some wire inside the fiber to help it keep its shape and height. looks pretty good on mine I think, but its in need of repair.....

i was actually thinking of a good way to discolor the hull from a fire burnt out, like an orange or rust-colored pastel.

The guys who make rustall have a 4 part system that can simulate burn-outs. I have it but havent tried it yet. I also heard of using baking soda somehow. Check the armour forum. I am sure there is a wealth of information there.
Good Luck
Ryan

There was a post a while ago about making real rust powder, using a ball of steel wool placed in a jar of water, and left out in the sun for a while. it seems like a pretty good idea. I think I'll try it out sometime and show my results. cant remember which site had the how-to on it, thats where somebody got it from....

I have heard of people using cigarette ashes , to simulate , burned off rubber , on the raod wheels . I seen it in an old issue of Military Modeller , the subject model , was a destroyed Panzer III , in North Afrika .
Frank.

Place your steel wool in a small dish with a litte lemon juice and water. Collect the rust.
Ryan

thanks everyone.... i actually combined dark orange and burnt sienna pastels and that front hull looks okay..... when i'm done procrastinating in a couple days, i will post the pic....

I use baking soda to simulate rust on burned and schorched metal. Paint the part(s) in your general rust colour, then quickly, while the paint is fully wet (It works better if you apply the base coat with a brush) dip the part in baking soda. It will provide a very convincing texturized effect. Airbrush another shade of rust, then wash and drybrush with darker and lighter shades, respectively. For the inside of the tank, flat black all around, and one key thing:
If the hole is large enough, have one or two loose wires hanging inside the damaged hole. I've found little else that is as effective a representation of a damaged interior.